Bartolo Colon of the Los Angeles Angels was named the winner of the American League Cy Young Award in voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The righthander, 32, is only the second winner of this award in the franchise's 45-season history and the first since Dean Chance in 1964.

Colon was first on 17 ballots and second on the other 11 of the 28 cast by two writers in each league city to score 118 points, based on the 5-3-1 tabulation system. He was the only pitcher named to every ballot.

Colon's 21-8 record marked the first 20-victory season for an Angels pitcher since 1974 when Nolan Ryan was 22-16. In 1973, Ryan was 21-16 and finished second in the Cy Young balloting (behind the Baltimore Orioles' Jim Palmer), the closest an Angels pitcher since Chance came to winning before this year. Ryan never won the Cy Young Award. Colon, whose 3.48 ERA ranked eighth in the league, was the AL's only 20-game winner. He was remarkably consistent, posting records of 11-5 with a 3.42 ERA before the All-Star Game and 10-3 with a 3.55 ERA after the break.

New York Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera (7-4, 1.38 ERA, 43 SV) received eight first-place votes and was the runner-up with 68 points. The other three first-place voters went to the 2004 winner, Minnesota Twins lefthander Johan Santana (16-7, 2.87 ERA, 238 Ks in 231 2/3 IP), who finished third overall with 51 points.